The Family They Have Formed
by GuiltyPleasuresAndDeadlySins
Summary: Drabbles: The Leverage team reflects on the family they have created. Probably OOC, but what is a girl to do? :-D Child friendly. Sophie and Eliot up.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Was rewatching The Top Hat Job when this came to me. It may be OOC, and for that, if it bothers you, I apologize._

_Summary:_ _Eliot reflects on the family the team has created._

_Disclaimer:__ If I owned anything…I wouldn't be writing this, and I wouldn't currently be a penniless student.

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Everyone on the team always claimed that they were a family, and Eliot agreed (even if he never said so out loud). Only, they weren't the classic family. There were no parents involved – and for that, Eliot thanked his lucky stars. Parents had always equalled pain in the past.

No, they were a family of orphaned children.

Parker was the baby sister. The slightly odd baby sister, who didn't quite get the world, didn't quite know how to act in social situations, was a damn good thief and threw herself off buildings, but the baby sister nonetheless.

Hardison was the youngest brother (perhaps Parker's twin, fraternal or otherwise). The annoying, geeky, hacker youngest brother who would spend a lot of time berating the others on underestimating him, then prove why they kept underestimating him by accident.

Sophie was the older sister. The reasonably reliable, if not completely trustworthy, flirty, older sister who wanted her own life outside of the family, but kept realizing that she couldn't have it, because regardless of what she though, they were her family.

Nate was the bacon-bringer. The one of the family who went out, got a respectable job, and worked on keeping them all alive (possibly the eldest who'd left home, had a family, lost his family, and come back to his siblings after their parents death).

Even Tara had made a brief impact – as a cousin most likely, someone they all liked, but who never quite fit in with them the way they all fit together. Wasn't quite part of the well-oiled unit they'd become.

And where did that leave Eliot?

Eliot was the middle brother, the one who looked out for everyone, tried to teach Parker how to act in the world, braved Hardison's speeches and taught the hacker to fight, leant a friendly ear to Sophie when she was once again pissed off at Nate, and took care of Nate when he went on a bender.

Eliot wasn't the father of the family, and he'd never claim to be. But he was the family protector. The one who put his family's lives first. Which was why, when Nate had told them to leave, Eliot hadn't taken on the guys with guns, although doubtless he could've. He couldn't risk any of them getting hurt, any of them getting injured.

They'd formed a strange, dysfunctional family, and Eliot would rather die than see any of them hurt. But as it stood, for now, he'd have to bide his time, and hope Nate didn't do anything _too_ stupid. For now, Eliot would take care of what was left of his family, and hope that it was enough.

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_A/N: Okay, this may be OOC, but here's my reasoning behind each of the observations:_

_Parker: She never seems to quite know how to react in a social situation (stabs the guy with the fork in The Stork Job, mis-insults the guy in The Top Hat Job, and manages to unnerve the woman in The Fairy Godparent Job)._

_Hardison: The Ice Man Job. Do I need to say any more?_

_Sophie: Her boyfriend through the start of Season 2, and her leaving the crew. And then coming back._

_Nate: He's the only one who ever had a proper job, and he's the one who runs the crew, he's also the one who ends up most out of line most of the time. He's also an ex-alcoholic._

_Tara: While I like her, she never seems to fit as well into the team as Sophie does. Hence her being a cousin rather than an actual sibling._

_Eliot: The reason I put Eliot as the most responsible (and the reason I wrote this) is because of the scene near the beginning of The Top Hat Job, where Parker's prodding Eliot's hurt elbow, and then Nate goes to do the same, with Eliot seeming to fall into the 'parent' role. But I don't think Eliot would see it that way, hence all the observations._

_The end is just good old Eliot overprotectiveness._

_And I think this A/N may be longer than the drabble…_

_Reviews are welcome, but flames will be used to ease next years heating bill. If you don't like, I don't need to know. Constructive criticism is however welcome!_


	2. Chapter 2: Sophie

_Alright. Part two. sararandom this is for you! This is Sophie's point of view. Bear in mind, all the Leverage crew will have slightly different views on this.

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Sophie was with the others on the team when they claimed that they were a family (she knew that Eliot agreed even if he didn't say anything). Only, they weren't the classic family. No, they wouldn't work as a classic family.

Parker was the youngest child, the baby of the family who hadn't quite been allowed to grow up properly. All awkward edges, and not completely correct social graces. The child who the mother had doted on, hadn't wanted to see her baby girl grown up. And then all of a sudden, the child was forced to grow up far too fast.

Hardison was the favoured son. The clever one who got all the awards, but at the same time got picked on by others. He was the one who the parents showered with praise, who got all the attention for being the smart one of the family. He was the one who didn't cope well when that attention was suddenly taken away.

Eliot was the child who ended up in the background. The quiet one, who only got attention when things weren't going well, and even then, it was assumed that he'd be fine having responsibility thrust into his hands. He was the one who kept getting taken to task for causing fights, even if it had been to defend one of his family.

Nate was the father of the family. The slightly off-the-rails crazy father who'd lost his youngest child, and turned to alcohol, but nevertheless the father who still cared about his 'children'. Still looked out for them as well as he could when he was drunk off his face. Yet, none of the kids really blamed him.

Tara was the aunt, the woman who wasn't there often enough to be really be part of the family, but close to it nevertheless. The woman who observed from the outside and made comments that had the children rushing in to defend their father.

And Sophie. Sophie was the mother…no, the father's on-off girlfriend. Going off with other men to try and make him jealous, leaving to globetrot so that she could get some freedom, but always coming back to the family. The family who accepted her even when she made mistakes.

They all made mistakes, and they all recognized that everyone in this group was nothing more than human, no matter how inhuman they might seem at times with their abilities. Still Sophie knew, that she would _never_ deceive them like she had on the Two Davids job. For now, she had to step into the role of 'mother', make sure that the others didn't go to pieces over Nate's capture, no matter how much she herself wanted to go to pieces.

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_...I'm not sure I like this, but let me know what you think._

_Flames will still be used to ease my heating bill next year._


End file.
